by Shirley Lorraine

Still Streaming and Dreaming!

The lifting of restrictions may finally be on the horizon. Anticipation is palpable in the theater community as news of potential reopening of Ventura County stages appears to be able to become a reality this season, albeit at reduced capacity to start. Keep checking the websites of your local theater companies for individual progress. They are all struggling and need our support to reopen.

In the meantime, caution is still being used as some theaters continue to present distanced events.

Get in your car and go there –

Conejo Players offers What’s Love Got to Do With It? a musical exploration of relationships, as a drive-in theater event this coming weekend, March 26-28. Performances will be held in the Conejo Players’ parking lot at 351 South Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks and will sell out quickly, no doubt, as distanced car-park spaces are limited. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets vary in price depending on car spots available. Hurry to www.conejoplayers.org to see the “seating” map and secure your tickets.

Stay at home and enjoy –

This year, Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center celebrates 25 years of bringing high quality arts of all types to Simi Valley.

It was a smash hit a few years ago and will hit the funny bone hard now as the SVCAC’s 2018 production of the lively musical Sister Act comes into your home as On Demand Streaming March 26 through April 25. This feel-good, high-energy musical is chock full of dancing, Motown, soul and disco music, and top-notch performances. Tickets for a single streaming or a household viewing are available at www.svvac.org.

A note from behind the wings – Do you have, or know someone who has, at least two years of Technical Theater experience seeking a job? The City of Simi Valley is recruiting for a Technical Theater Coordinator for the Cultural Arts Center. Apply now through the arts center website or at www.simivalley.org. It’s a great opportunity for a qualified individual, but hurry – the application window closes very soon.

Wait – there’s more.

A YouTube search of county theaters yields offerings of many types, from full performances, to auditions, discussions, teaser snippets and much more. Camarillo Skyway Playhouse, Rubicon Theater, Ojai Art Center, Moorpark’s High Street Theater, Santa Paula Theater Center and Elite Theater all have fun videos to enjoy. Check them out.

And Finally –

Actors are eager to get back on stage, writers want to see their works come alive, and devoted theatergoers are pining to attend live theater. Count me among them. Effusive applause all around for the efforts made by all the theater companies, directors, actors, and technicians who have met the challenges posed by video performing in pieces (i.e. everyone streaming from their homes) over this past year. Keep up the good work – we look forward to attending in person soon.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
My Octopus Teacher
Netflix Films – 2021 Oscar Nominee

“My Octopus Teacher” is the incredible true story of diver Craig Foster’s unique experience with an octopus in a kelp forest off the coast of South Africa that opens viewers’ eyes to secluded and mysterious sea world, while also revealing how connected things truly are and that our worlds are more similar than most would imagine.

About 20 years ago, Foster was on a project making a film with his brother in the central Kalahari, where he witnessed the incredible skills of some of the best trackers in world that were able to follow incredibly subtle signs in nature and find hidden animals in the landscape. Foster could see the trackers were inside the world around them while he was outside, and had a deep longing to be inside that world.

After that Foster went through two years of pressure, family issues and fatigue from long shoots and put down his camera not wanting anything to do with film making or editing anymore. He returned to his childhood home on the coast on the tip of South Africa with his family to try to put the pieces of his life back together again. Taking inspiration from his childhood and from the master trackers, Foster knew he needed a radical change and returned to the ocean.

Foster was a free diver and after a year began to crave the cold waters and three dimensional forests that lie below the surface, where he found peace swimming freely through the kelp. Foster knew having a scuba tank would impede his movement through a kelp forest and did not wear a wet suit to be more like an amphibious animal and closer to his environment.

After about a year of immersion in his sea life, Foster picked up his camera again and began filming the exotic and strange underwater world he had come to know, which helped him to get back to the filmmaking life he loved. He described this underwater world as being much more extreme than the maddest science fiction, and again found joy in capturing it on camera.

While diving in a special secluded area in the kelp forest, a pile of nearly 100 shells and stones lying in the sand caught his eye, which shortly thereafter fell apart to reveal an octopus that quickly swam away. Foster followed her back to her den and got a unique feeling that there was some connection between him and the octopus.

Foster decided to visit the octopus daily and after about a week had his first physical contact with her that grew into a beautiful connection they shared daily for nearly an entire year, which is the approximate lifespan of an octopus. Believing in letting nature take its course, Foster helplessly witnessed some challenging things in the natural life cycle of this octopus he had come to care for and know intimately.

“My Octopus Teacher” is an incredible documentary that has as many edge of your seat moments as an action thriller and through his experiences with the octopus over the course of a year, Foster unveils the physical and emotional connections shared by all living things.

Runtime: 1h 25m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
I Care a Lot. – Netflix Originals

Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike) was a well-respected professional guardian that was regularly appointed by the courts to look after seniors who were thought to not be able to look after themselves. Unfortunately, Marla was actually a scam artist who preyed on the elderly, using doctors to get seniors committed to facilities and to then liquidate their assets to pay for her services and for the care facilities she was working with to imprison vulnerable seniors.

The doctor Marla was working with provided her with a “cherry” client named Jennifer Peterson (Dianne Wiest). With a court order in hand, Marla showed up at Jennifer Peterson’s home saying she had no choice but to go to the facility and take it up later with the judge. The facility gave Jennifer a warm welcome, but took her phone to prevent her from contacting anyone.

Jennifer Peterson was actually the mother of Russian mobster Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage) living under an assumed name to keep her safe from her son’s enemies. Roman sent an attorney to get his mother released, but that didn’t work. Next he sent some men undercover on a tour to break out his mother, which also failed. Feeling desperate, Jennifer attacked Marla, giving Marla the ability to move her to a mental facility even further away from her son’s reach.

Roman captured Marla instructing his men to kill her and make it look like and accident. They drugged her, put her back in her car as if she was drinking and driving, and drove the car into the quarry. Instead of drowning, Marla miraculously escaped and went back to the house to find her girlfriend Fran severely beaten, both barely escaped the house before it blew up.

They couldn’t go on the run without resources, however Marla had the bag of diamonds she stole from Jennifer’s safe deposit box and had a plan. Fran helped Marla track Roman to his office, where she tased his security guard and drugged Roman. They took Roman to a park, drugged him to stay asleep and left him naked on a trail to be found by strangers. Due to state that Roman was found, he was taken to the hospital and seeming unstable and without any ID was considered a John Doe, which left legally him in the care of a court appointed guardian, Marla.

Marla told Roman the only way he would get his life, his mother and diamonds back was to pay her the 10 million she wanted. In a strange twist, Roman said that even though he hated her, that he wanted Marla to go into business with him financing a countrywide guardianship corporation with his wealth and business structure and both would make billions.

Marla took the deal and they immediately began exploiting seniors across the country with the model Marla used to victimize Roman’s mother. Marla got national attention and she and Fran began living the indulgent life of wealth that Marla had always wanted, but it seemed karma would provide a last twist of fate.

“I Care a Lot” constantly leaves viewers feeling powerless with the expressed collaborative exploitation of elder care, and Rosamund Pike is superb in her role as Marla Grayson, garnering her the “Best Actress” award at this year’s Golden Globes.

Rated: R
Runtime: 1h 58m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Nomadland – Hulu

In January 2011, a gypsum mine in Empire, Nevada shut down after 88 years, displacing all the permanent residents. Among them was Fern (Francis McDormand), who recently lost her husband and now also lost her town, community and everday life. Fern bought a van that she custom built to live in and began a nomad life traveling across the country doing seasonal jobs, camping when she could and often parking in the safest places she could find in between.

Along the way Fern stayed steadfast to being independent, insisting that she was not homeless, just houseless and comfortable with her nomadic life. She was a seaonal worker for Amazon, which fortunately included camping benefits, and she connected with other vandwellers for other work and living opportunities.

Nomadland has a mix of actors and real life characters that give an intimate look into the lives of van dwellers revealing many unique stories of how they came to live in a home on wheels. The largest gathering at the time was the RTR (Rubber Tramp Rendvous) where seasoned vandwellers shared their knowledge and experiences with fellow nomads.

One woman who worked in corporate America over 20 years had a friend who died from liver failure a week before his retirement and never got to sail his boat he had in his driveway. He told her to not waste any time so she retired as soon as she could because she didn’t want to die with her sailboat in the driveway. Another was a veteran and couldn’t be around noises or people, fireworks, crowds and so was at peace living the lifestyle. Fern felt a sense of community and tribe with the other van dwellers that she met at RTR.

Fern also met Swanky at the rendezvous, who helped her with a flat tire and after they came back to town shared that she had lung cancer that spread to her brain. Swanky was given 7-8 months to live so she was taking her final trip back to Alaska to a beautiful kayaking area she loved, leaving her the paint to Fern to spruce up her van.

Fern met Dave (David Strathairn) at RTR and saw him again camping at the Badlands Park, where he got sick and ended up in the hosptial. Dave later helped Fern to get her next job in a restaurant at Wall Drug, but Dave’s nomad life was interupted by the arrival of his son sharing he had a grandchild on the way, so Dave left and invited Fern to come anytime.

Thoughout the movie, Fern seemed very settled in living the van dwelling life and even cleared out the storage unit she had in Empire to move on from her life there. Nomadland is filled with strikingly beautiful landscapes that are common places most likely missed by most rushing to their destinations instead of enjoying the journey. The lense of Fern’s life presents viewers with a slower pace creating a special grace anyone could enjoy if only they slowed down enough to be a part of the world around them.

Rated: R
Runtime: 1h 48m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Outside the Wire – Netflix Originals

In 2036, a violent civil war had erupted in Eastern Europe. US troops were stationed as peacekeepers on the lawless new frontier, which was controlled by a ruthless criminal warlord named Viktor Koval – a ghost that few people had seen. To combat Koval’s growing power, the Pentagon deployed robotic soldiers called “Gumps” to active duty for the first time.

While soldiers on the ground were pinned down fighting against rebels in a European seized town, drone operator Lieutenant Thomas Harp (Damson Idris) controlled a surveillance drone from a military base in Nevada. He noticed a large vehicle approaching the area at a high rate of speed and asked the commanding officer on the ground for permission to engage. The officer denied his request stating that he had two men down and wanted to rescue the wounded soldiers.

While the ground troops pleaded for cover fire from the drone, Harp called into command to request ignoring the intel on the ground and destroy the vehicle. He stated that though 2 men were in danger that 38 other men could lose their lives if he was correct that the large vehicle was a launcher in disguise. Harp was told to stand down, but ignored the command and fired on the truck killing two US soldiers in the explosion.

Harp was brought before the Ethics Committee, and was asked if he had ever spent any time in a conflict zone or experienced a mass-casualty encounter other than from behind a computer screen. Harp barely avoided court-martial, but was deployed to Camp Nathaniel on the European front lines and told to report to Captain Leo (Anthony Mackie).

Leo questioned Harp about his number of insurgent kills, as well as collateral, and Harp’s response to the collateral number was an uncaring “the numbers are within mission goals and flight hours.” Leo told Harp he was Marine Special Operations, then took his shirt off to reveal the electronics at the core of his seemingly human body and told Harp he was a classified 4^th generation biotech military prototype known only by Harp and Leo’s commanding officer.

Leo told Harp that he wasn’t there for punishment, he was there to aid Leo in thinking outside the box and headed outside the wire to deliver cholera vaccines to a clinic. Leo traveled frequently outside the wire and was known to many of the people who lived in the new frontier. While visiting an orphanage where Leo had a contact, Harp saw the reality of his collateral numbers signified by all the children there who had lost their parents in the conflict.

Leo learned of Koval’s possible location and that he had most likely acquired the nuclear codes to launch dormant nukes against the US. Leo asked Harp to remove his tracking device from his back so that Koval’s men wouldn’t detect them through his signal and they went to Koval’s compound initiating a drone attack where it appeared Leo also got caught in and destroyed.

The explosion was actually used as a cover to allow Leo to recover the nuclear codes and escape. He had his own plan of destruction he wanted to carry out and could now do so without anyone stopping him as the device Harp removed was not a tracker, but a fail safe. Working with his old commanding officer, Harp set out to track down Leo for a battle pitting man against machine to save the world from nuclear destruction.

Rated: R
Runtime: 1h 55m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Like a Boss
Epix & Amazon Originals

Mia and Mel were best friends since grade school and now 22 years later own their custom cosmetics business. The business had great online success, but after opening a storefront had been struggling financially to the point they may have to close their entire business. Quite by luck they get approached by Claire Luna, the owner of a major cosmetics company, to invest in their business but her intentions are not transparent and test their lifelong friendship.

Mia (Tiffany Haddish) and Mel (Rose Byrne) were basically inseparable since they were kids, even now as adults living together in the house Mia’s mom willed to them when she passed away. After attending college they started their own cosmetic business Mia & Mel out of their garage. Mia was the creative cosmetics genius while Mel was in charge of the finances.

Claire Luna (Salma Hayek), owner of Ovieda Beauty Enterprises International, had been watching their business progress and sent her assistant Josh Tinker (Karan Soni) to inform them that she was interested in meeting with them and investing in their company. Claire’s original offer to Mia and Mel was to cover their current debt of $500,000 for 51% of their company, but Mia refused so Claire changed the deal to 49% continent upon them maintaining their friendship.

Having been friends for so long, Mia and Mel said that nothing could come between their friendship, so took the deal not knowing that Claire (who believed from past experience that money damages friendships) planned was to drive them apart if they didn’t end up doing to themselves. Claire immediately forced them to fire their cosmetic production specialist Barret (Billy Porter), who they not only had a longstanding friendship with but also had been with the business since it’s beginning.

Claire tried to pass off Mia and Mel’s best product “One Night Stand” to Greg and Ron from Get Some Cosmetics by just repackaging the contents and turning her finances and focus to the guys, even though Claire told Mia and Mel that she was trying to promote feminism. Mia and Mel finally figure out Claire’s bad intentions and teamed up with an old ally of Claire’s, Shay Witmore (Lisa Kudrow), to take back their business and become more successful than their wildest dreams.

Like a Boss has very clever comedic writing that also occasionally sneaks in current social issues like when Mia (Tiffany Haddish) broke a drone and told Mel “Put it in your purse, you’re a white woman, you will not go to jail, two different laws, you got that white privilege, they won’t care.” This light comedy provides lots of laughs in revealing the inside conversations of best friends and is filled with hilarious comedic gestures from all the actors, making it very visually amusing. Tiffany Haddish is a brilliant physical actor doing crazy stunts like slipping over the ledge at Ovieda corporate and planking dozens of stories above the lobby until drug to safety by her feet and the ghost pepper scene is hysterical.

Rated: R (Drug Use|Crude Sexual Material|Language)
Runtime: 1h 23m

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Wilds – Amazon Original Series

The Wilds follows a group of teen girls from various backgrounds who board a first class jet on their way to The Dawn of Eve Retreat in Kona Hawaii, a female-centric learning and growth experience where teen women can participate in yoga classes, confidence workshops and relax in paradise. Unfortunately, their plane crashed stranding them on a deserted island to fend for themselves without any proper resources, thus turning their vacation into a survival situation where they must work together to survive until they are rescued.

Leah Rilke, Fatin Jadmani, Toni Shalifoe, Martha Blackburn, Dot Campbell, Shelby Goodkind, Rachel Reid and her sister Nora Reid all boarded a first class jet for a relaxing, rejuvenating experience arranged by their parents at Dawn of Eve Retreat in Kona, Hawaii. Though seeming coincidental, the girls were paired up from different locations across the U.S.: Leah (Sarah Pidgeon) was an aspiring writer and Fatin (Sophia Ali) a spoiled rich promiscuous girl and cello virtuoso; Martha (Jenna Clause) was a Native American animal lover and Toni (Erana James) Martha’s athletic hot-headed openly lesbian best friend from Minnesota; Dot (Shannon Berry) ] was a tough Texan girl with wilderness survival skills and Shelby (Mia Healey)] a Christian Church faithful beauty queen from Texas and Rachel (Reign Edwards) who was a competitive diver and an athlete from NY and her sister Nora (Helena Howard), Rachel’s fraternal twin sister and a book nerd.

Over 3 weeks time, they navigate the difficulties of survival on a deserted island, learning to move beyond their differences and work together to overcome their situation and find ways to remain alive until such time that they could be rescued. Janette (Chi Nguyen), who was a cheery Asian gal, died shortly after they all found each other on the beach, having come to shore with bruising on her stomach from internal injuries. Though they buried her, her body mysteriously disappeared overnight causing them all to question whether or not they were indeed alone on the island.

The 10 episodes in Season 1 cover the first 23 days on the island as the girls come together to conquer the basics of survival to find water, food, and shelter, with random cases of supplies washing up on shore to aid their progress. Though discounted, Leah questioned everything from the beginning and felt there was a presence on the island.

At the end of Episode 1, viewers learn that the girls are indeed being watched through a network of cameras and monitored by a team lead by Gretchen Klein (Rachel Griffiths), head of the Dawn of Eve program and was also clear that their parents had no idea they were sending their girls off to survival camp.

Those captivated by the addictive nature of this thrilling series with reveals that always bring more questions than answers are sure to be anxiously looking forward to Season 2.

10 Episodes – 45-60 minutes

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers

Your Honor
Showtime Limited Series

Your Honor poses the question “What if a family member accidentally did something and wanted to do the right thing, but did it to the wrong people and therefore would suffer beyond the measure of the law?” The question becomes even more complicated when one family member is New Orleans Judge Michael Desiato (Bryan Cranston) whose son accidentally hit and killed the son of the area’s prominent organized crime family and is faced with situations he never imagined challenging his deepest convictions.

Judge Michael Desiato was known in the local community for his practicality and fairness. He was sensitive to family issues, which may have been partly due to losing his wife in a liquor store robbery gone bad just a year ago and dealing with the challenges of raising his son Adam as they deal with the grief of losing his mother.

Adam had decided to visit the neighborhood where his mother was murdered on the anniversary of her death wanting to leave her photo and some flowers as a small memento but was chased out of the neighborhood by thugs with guns. He was so panicked he had an asthma attack while driving but wasn’t able to find his inhaler, which was on the floorboard on the passenger side of the car. When reaching for it Adam slightly swerved into the path of an oncoming motorcycle whose driver flew over the hood of the car and across the intersection, while the motorcycle was dragged by the car.

Adam got out and tried to assist the boy but was unable to and in a panic called 911 from the boy’s cell phone but couldn’t say anything due to his asthma attack. Adam got in the car and drove away from the scene, threw the phone in the river and went home where he tried to clean the car and his blood soaked clothes.

When his father arrived home, Adam told him what happened and his dad Michael immediately took over cleaning up the car and laundry. They discussed the situation, and Adam agreed to go to the police station and turn himself in for the accident. Unfortunately when Micheal entered the police station to brief them on his son Adam’s situation, he saw Jimmy Baxter (Michael Stahlburg) and his wife who was inconsolable and realized the boy Adam killed was the son of the most vicious crime family in New Orleans.

Micheal felt his only choice was to protect his son and cover up the accident, both of them agreeing to never speak of the matter. Micheal used some of his long standing connections to make arrangements to have the car disappear to avoid any future evidence being found, and though there were no witnesses, Adam accidentally left his inhaler at the scene. One of Baxter’s guys found the inhaler which had his son’s blood, but also DNA from who used it and with his connections could get results within 36 hours.

Your Honor poses a very plausible situation that could happen to anyone, and takes many unexpected twists and turns. The cinematography keeps viewers gripped in the emotion of the moment and Episode 1 setup some interesting scenarios to see how they play out.

Rated TV-14
10 Episodes – 60 minutes

Nostalgia Reigns This Season

Ventura County theaters have always spread joy through their myriad holiday stage offerings. This year, our thespians continue to entertain, although the offerings are online and viewed from the comfort of our own cozy chairs.

Here are three virtual productions to add to your viewing calendar this month.

Ojai Art Center Theater brings holiday cheer with a virtual production of It’s A Wonderful Life A Live Radio Play. Broadway on Demand and director Gai Jones are proud to present Joe Landry’s adaptation in a digital performance for all to enjoy. Check out the details at www.ojaiact.org.

Streaming began at 7 p.m. last Saturday, December 12 and will continue through Saturday, December 19. Tickets are available at ojaiact.org/iawl for $12.95 which – get this – allows viewers to see the performance as many times as they like until midnight on the 19th. So instead of binging the movie on Netflix this year, you can enjoy this version with local talent more than once for a single price.

A classic Christmas story, It’s A wonderful Life examines human foibles, renews our faith in miracles, and reinforces that good people triumph over odds, even when faced with multiple difficulties. It seems like the perfect story for the 2020 holiday season.

The American Film Institute listed the 1947 Frank Capra movie starring Jimmy Stewart as number one on its list of most inspirational American films of all time and as one of the 100 best American films ever made.

Follow along as dreamer George Bailey’s life unfolds. His guardian angel, Clarence, gets the chance to earn his wings by helping George regain what he was certain was lost. The town rejoices. George is saved. And, as everyone knows, a bell rings every time an angel gets his (or her) wings. Ring-a-ding!

Ojai’s large cast, which includes several married couples, two groups of siblings and a father and daughter, all perform from their own homes, augmented with visual effects, sound effects and costumes. It’s a family affair fit for all families. Well done, Ojai Art Center Theatre!

Conejo Players in Thousand Oaks presents a digital offering of Home for the Holidays, a Conejo Youth Theatre production featuring stories of holiday traditions, songs, dances and more. Viewing is available December 18-20. It is presented on a “pay what you can” donation request. After initial viewing, it is available to you for the next 30 days for no extra charge. www.conejoplayers.org/home-holidays-conejo-players-youth-theatreproduction.

Every Now and Then Theatre presents “A 1947 Christmas Carol”, a one-hour, award-winning, commercial free broadcast streams nationwide with celebrity guest host Miss California International 2012 Dedria Brunett and a large cast of talented actors. Go to www.kvta.com then click on Listen Live. The program will air Thursday, December 24, Christmas Eve, at 3 p.m. and 10 p.m., and Friday, December 25, Christmas Day, at 8 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
The Pack – Amazon Originals

Focusing on the incredible bond between dogs and their owners, The Pack follows 12 dogs and their owners as they travel the globe on an adventure similar to the Amazing Race doggie style. Two teams, Blue Team and Green Team, were randomly selected by finding tug toys with bandannas inside that represented each team colors, and were tasked for various tug, fetch and scent work challenges for the grand prize of $500,000 for the winning team and an additional $250,000 for their favorite pet charity.

Hosted by Olympic Gold Medal Skier Lindsay Vonn and her dog Lucy, each day begins with a Leader of the Pack Challenge, where the teams select a specific dog and owner for an individual task for a clue to the location of the fetch point. Upon completion, pack teams race to the fetch point where there are pack challenges and the first pack arriving gets to choose. The challenges relate to local history and traditions, which educate the viewers on different cultures around the globe. The losing pack faces an elimination challenge against the members of their own team to determine who would have to go home each show.

Prior to filming the series, all the dogs and owners spent time in Los Angeles training on tug, fetch and scent work tasks using birch oil. They flew on a first class private jet around the world for the comfort of the dogs and their owners and there were Dog Safety teams and veterinarians whose number one priority was dog safety and making sure they are never stressed out as they circled the globe starting in Los Angeles, then Mexico City, Costa Rica, Vienna, Florence, Switzerland, Paris, London, with the finals back in the US in the Utah.

The dogs were incredible seeming thrilled with all the helicopter rides, repelling, zip lining, paddleboarding, riding ATVs, whitewater rafting, and even did mock earthquake and avalanche rescues. They also served meals in fancy restaurants while wearing waiter costumes and carried food through local marketplaces with special dog pouches similar to those carried at farmers markets.

The owners and dogs were all from over the US, with many different dog breeds competing and included: Mark LeBlanc & Ace (Australian Shepard) – Utah mountains, Kioni ‘Kentucky’ Russel Gallahue & Derby (Golden Doodle) – San Diego, Vania Zuniga & Jax – (Red Golden Retriever) Long Beach, Lucy Riles & Duchess (Black Lab) Los Angeles, Chelsey Lowe & Gryffin – Newport Beach, Brian Calvert & Dixie – (Bluetick Coonhound) Indiana, Josh White & Snow (Standard Poodle) West Hollywood, Mitra Najibeh Yosri & Bozley – Los Angeles, Chism Joe Johnson & Kepo – Oklahoma, Daniel Reese & Allister U.S. Navy, Donna Modafferi & Charlie – New York (Snoodle – Dog actor) and Linh Iacoca & Chance (Chihuahua) – Brooklyn, NY.

Not only did the winning duo received a total of $750,000, in addition the show donated an additional $250,000 during production to multiple animal charities and rescue organizations in the countries in which they filmed. Viewers of all ages will enjoy this heartwarming dog version of the amazing race where instead of friends or family members it’s special people with man’s best friend – their dog.

10 Episodes – 50 minutes